This chapter chronicles Webb's conversion to Islam. It is shown that Webb's conversion was actually a series of conversions. First, he adopted materialism, which he rejected for Buddhism in search ...
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This chapter chronicles Webb's conversion to Islam. It is shown that Webb's conversion was actually a series of conversions. First, he adopted materialism, which he rejected for Buddhism in search for new spirituality. Then, he adopted Theosophy and made changes in his eating habits and lifestyle. Finally, he embraced Islam. The parallels of Webb's conversion with other Victorian converts to Islam and Buddhism are discussed.Less

Webb's Journey to Islam

Umar F. Abd‐Allah

Published in print: 2006-10-01

This chapter chronicles Webb's conversion to Islam. It is shown that Webb's conversion was actually a series of conversions. First, he adopted materialism, which he rejected for Buddhism in search for new spirituality. Then, he adopted Theosophy and made changes in his eating habits and lifestyle. Finally, he embraced Islam. The parallels of Webb's conversion with other Victorian converts to Islam and Buddhism are discussed.

This chapter discusses how the close relationship between Theosophical theories of matter and the new atomic science led Theosophists to launch a decades-long research program of “clairvoyant ...
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This chapter discusses how the close relationship between Theosophical theories of matter and the new atomic science led Theosophists to launch a decades-long research program of “clairvoyant chemistry” in 1895. This research continued in the 20th century and has even occupied contemporary scientists in chemistry and physics.Less

Occult Chemistry, Instrumentation, and the Theosophical Science of Direct Perception

Mark S. Morrisson

Published in print: 2007-09-01

This chapter discusses how the close relationship between Theosophical theories of matter and the new atomic science led Theosophists to launch a decades-long research program of “clairvoyant chemistry” in 1895. This research continued in the 20th century and has even occupied contemporary scientists in chemistry and physics.

This chapter shows, with attention to the social, political, and polemical contexts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the ways Buddhists and Buddhist sympathizers attempted to align Buddhism ...
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This chapter shows, with attention to the social, political, and polemical contexts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the ways Buddhists and Buddhist sympathizers attempted to align Buddhism with scientific rationalism. A discourse of scientific Buddhism emerged in the context of two intertwined crises: the Victorian crisis of faith in the West and the crisis of colonialism and western hegemony in Asia. In Ceylon, Anagarika Dharmapala promoted the image of Buddhism as scientific to counter denigrations of Buddhism by colonialists and missionaries and to assert its superiority to Christianity. Paul Carus, who through science had lost his faith in traditional Christianity, presented Buddhism as a part of a triumphal vision of science that would eventually lead to a universal “religion of science.” Henry Steel Olcott saw Buddhism as representing an “occult science” aligned with Theosophy and spiritualism.Less

Modernity and the Discourse of Scientific Buddhism

David L. McMahan

Published in print: 2009-02-01

This chapter shows, with attention to the social, political, and polemical contexts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the ways Buddhists and Buddhist sympathizers attempted to align Buddhism with scientific rationalism. A discourse of scientific Buddhism emerged in the context of two intertwined crises: the Victorian crisis of faith in the West and the crisis of colonialism and western hegemony in Asia. In Ceylon, Anagarika Dharmapala promoted the image of Buddhism as scientific to counter denigrations of Buddhism by colonialists and missionaries and to assert its superiority to Christianity. Paul Carus, who through science had lost his faith in traditional Christianity, presented Buddhism as a part of a triumphal vision of science that would eventually lead to a universal “religion of science.” Henry Steel Olcott saw Buddhism as representing an “occult science” aligned with Theosophy and spiritualism.

Some contemporary theologians have called for a return to Origen. Nicholas Berdyaev advocated the idea, but the Eastern Orthodox Church strenuously resists the idea, as does the Roman Catholic ...
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Some contemporary theologians have called for a return to Origen. Nicholas Berdyaev advocated the idea, but the Eastern Orthodox Church strenuously resists the idea, as does the Roman Catholic Church. In philosophy, J. M. E. McTaggart among others embraces the idea. Relevance to the free will debate, rather than to theodicy, is the idea's main appeal in the twentieth century. Theosophy defends the idea, and it appears sporadically in twentieth-century literature (in Robert Frost, for example). Parascience shows the latest interest in the idea.Less

Preexistence in the Modern Age

Terryl L. Givens

Published in print: 2009-09-10

Some contemporary theologians have called for a return to Origen. Nicholas Berdyaev advocated the idea, but the Eastern Orthodox Church strenuously resists the idea, as does the Roman Catholic Church. In philosophy, J. M. E. McTaggart among others embraces the idea. Relevance to the free will debate, rather than to theodicy, is the idea's main appeal in the twentieth century. Theosophy defends the idea, and it appears sporadically in twentieth-century literature (in Robert Frost, for example). Parascience shows the latest interest in the idea.

This chapter examines Spiritualist writings about health and the body. For a movement that was otherworldly in its focus, Spiritualists were extremely interested in medicine and many, including ...
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This chapter examines Spiritualist writings about health and the body. For a movement that was otherworldly in its focus, Spiritualists were extremely interested in medicine and many, including Andrew Jackson Davis, worked as healers and country doctors. In an epoch when bloodletting and heroic measures were still common, a spiritual or philosophical explanation for ill health was often preferable to mainstream authority. Spiritualists embraced the idea of the Grand Man from Swedenborg, where the microcosm of the human body reflected the macrocosm of the universe as a whole. Resembling the Kabbalah’s articulation of Adam Kadmon and tracing its roots to Plato’s Timaeus, this construction of the body as the cosmos in miniature did not distinguish between the material and spiritual worlds but rather saw them as united parts of the divine.Less

Medicine

Cathy Gutierrez

Published in print: 2009-11-01

This chapter examines Spiritualist writings about health and the body. For a movement that was otherworldly in its focus, Spiritualists were extremely interested in medicine and many, including Andrew Jackson Davis, worked as healers and country doctors. In an epoch when bloodletting and heroic measures were still common, a spiritual or philosophical explanation for ill health was often preferable to mainstream authority. Spiritualists embraced the idea of the Grand Man from Swedenborg, where the microcosm of the human body reflected the macrocosm of the universe as a whole. Resembling the Kabbalah’s articulation of Adam Kadmon and tracing its roots to Plato’s Timaeus, this construction of the body as the cosmos in miniature did not distinguish between the material and spiritual worlds but rather saw them as united parts of the divine.

This chapter goes back to the beginning. It covers Gu”non’s life from birth until 1908, and examines the nature and consequences of his involvement during the Belle Epoque with the Martinist Order ...
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This chapter goes back to the beginning. It covers Gu”non’s life from birth until 1908, and examines the nature and consequences of his involvement during the Belle Epoque with the Martinist Order and other occultist groups led by “Papus,”as well as in Gu”non’s own short-lived occultist group, the Renewed Order of the Temple. The chapter also examines the origins of Perennialism in fifteenth-century Italy, of Freemasonry in sixteenth-century Scotland, and of Western interest in Hinduism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (in India with Reuben Burrow, in Britain and France, and in America with Ralph Waldo Emerson). It traces these three influences on Gu”non through Helena Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society and Encausse, as well as parallel influences on Gu”non’s collaborator Coomaraswamy.Less

Perennialism

Mark Sedgwick

Published in print: 2004-06-17

This chapter goes back to the beginning. It covers Gu”non’s life from birth until 1908, and examines the nature and consequences of his involvement during the Belle Epoque with the Martinist Order and other occultist groups led by “Papus,”as well as in Gu”non’s own short-lived occultist group, the Renewed Order of the Temple. The chapter also examines the origins of Perennialism in fifteenth-century Italy, of Freemasonry in sixteenth-century Scotland, and of Western interest in Hinduism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (in India with Reuben Burrow, in Britain and France, and in America with Ralph Waldo Emerson). It traces these three influences on Gu”non through Helena Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society and Encausse, as well as parallel influences on Gu”non’s collaborator Coomaraswamy.

This essay examines the history and development of the Theosophical Society and its offshoots. The Theosophical Society was founded in New York City in 1875 by sixteen individuals with shared ...
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This essay examines the history and development of the Theosophical Society and its offshoots. The Theosophical Society was founded in New York City in 1875 by sixteen individuals with shared interests in spiritualism and occultism. The objectives of the society were to “collect and diffuse a knowledge of the laws which govern the universe.” Theosophy, as understood in the Theosophical Society and in many of the societies that derived from it, should not be considered static in its definition and content, but understood as an organic body of teachings that has undergone reinterpretation and development over time. Nonetheless, most Theosophical organizations understand Theosophy through the teachings of Helena P. Blavatsky, who is regarded as the ultimate and, for some, an infallible source of Theosophical learning. Organizations that ultimately derive from the Theosophical Society include the Temple of the People founded by Dr. William H. Dower and Mrs. Francia LaDue, Alice Bailey’s Arcane School, Guy Ballard’s “I AM” Religious Activity, the Church Universal and Triumphant (formerly the Summit Lighthouse) founded by Mark Prophet, and the Aetherius Society founded by George King.Less

The Theosophical Society

James A. Santucci

Published in print: 2004-12-09

This essay examines the history and development of the Theosophical Society and its offshoots. The Theosophical Society was founded in New York City in 1875 by sixteen individuals with shared interests in spiritualism and occultism. The objectives of the society were to “collect and diffuse a knowledge of the laws which govern the universe.” Theosophy, as understood in the Theosophical Society and in many of the societies that derived from it, should not be considered static in its definition and content, but understood as an organic body of teachings that has undergone reinterpretation and development over time. Nonetheless, most Theosophical organizations understand Theosophy through the teachings of Helena P. Blavatsky, who is regarded as the ultimate and, for some, an infallible source of Theosophical learning. Organizations that ultimately derive from the Theosophical Society include the Temple of the People founded by Dr. William H. Dower and Mrs. Francia LaDue, Alice Bailey’s Arcane School, Guy Ballard’s “I AM” Religious Activity, the Church Universal and Triumphant (formerly the Summit Lighthouse) founded by Mark Prophet, and the Aetherius Society founded by George King.

The “Church of Scientology” has gradually surfaced as the most hotly debated movement during the second half of the twentieth century, and it continued to stimulate ongoing discussions up to the ...
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The “Church of Scientology” has gradually surfaced as the most hotly debated movement during the second half of the twentieth century, and it continued to stimulate ongoing discussions up to the present. If Scientology is viewed as a religion at all, it is mainly perceived as a candidate that might fit into the “alternative” realm of modern religiosity denoted by labels like New Age or Esotericism. This chapter examines Scientology in terms of its parallels with the so-called New Age movement. These parallels are not accidental, but arise out of the influence of common predecessor movements. Theosophy, for example, is the source of certain interpretations of Asian religions like Buddhism that influenced both Hubbard and the New Age.Less

Scientology, a “New Age” Religion?

Andreas Grünschloß

Published in print: 2009-03-11

The “Church of Scientology” has gradually surfaced as the most hotly debated movement during the second half of the twentieth century, and it continued to stimulate ongoing discussions up to the present. If Scientology is viewed as a religion at all, it is mainly perceived as a candidate that might fit into the “alternative” realm of modern religiosity denoted by labels like New Age or Esotericism. This chapter examines Scientology in terms of its parallels with the so-called New Age movement. These parallels are not accidental, but arise out of the influence of common predecessor movements. Theosophy, for example, is the source of certain interpretations of Asian religions like Buddhism that influenced both Hubbard and the New Age.

While the engagement of modernist artists with the occult has been approached by critics as the result of a loss of faith in representation, as an attempt to draw on science as the primary discourse ...
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While the engagement of modernist artists with the occult has been approached by critics as the result of a loss of faith in representation, as an attempt to draw on science as the primary discourse of modernity, or as a hidden history of ideas, this book argues that the discourses of the occult were used by a range of modernist artists, writers and filmmakers because at their heart is a magical practice which remakes the relationship between world and representation. The discourses of the occult are based on a magical mimesis which transforms the nature of the copy, from inert to vital, from dead to alive, from static to animated. The book explores the aesthetic and political implications of this, and argues that those modernists who were most self-consciously experimental – including Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Dziga Vertov and Sergei M. Eisenstein – drew on the magical mimesis at the heart of occult discourses in order to renew and transform their art.Less

Modernism and Magic : Experiments with Spiritualism, Theosophy and the Occult

Leigh Wilson

Published in print: 2012-12-31

While the engagement of modernist artists with the occult has been approached by critics as the result of a loss of faith in representation, as an attempt to draw on science as the primary discourse of modernity, or as a hidden history of ideas, this book argues that the discourses of the occult were used by a range of modernist artists, writers and filmmakers because at their heart is a magical practice which remakes the relationship between world and representation. The discourses of the occult are based on a magical mimesis which transforms the nature of the copy, from inert to vital, from dead to alive, from static to animated. The book explores the aesthetic and political implications of this, and argues that those modernists who were most self-consciously experimental – including Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Dziga Vertov and Sergei M. Eisenstein – drew on the magical mimesis at the heart of occult discourses in order to renew and transform their art.

This chapter focuses on the accounts of Annie (Wood) Besant. Annie Wood came from a comfortably well-to-do family. She was intelligent and well-educated. At the age of nineteen, she married Rev. ...
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This chapter focuses on the accounts of Annie (Wood) Besant. Annie Wood came from a comfortably well-to-do family. She was intelligent and well-educated. At the age of nineteen, she married Rev. Frank Besant. Her marriage to him led to Annie's awakening to the legal and social disabilities of women. She eventually separated from her husband, who won the custody of their two children. Robbed of her own children, Annie started to search for a way to help others. She became a national public speaker and advocated for better working conditions and practices in the labor industry, birth control, the abolishment of school fees, and more meals for schoolchildren. After being active for fifteen years in different branches of British radicalism, Annie converted to Theosophy. She became a leader of the Theosophy movement and became a dominant figure in Indian nationalism during the First World War. In this chapter, the focus is on Annie's account of money, prices, wages, and rent.Less

Annie (Wood) Besant

Ellen Ross

Published in print: 2007-07-26

This chapter focuses on the accounts of Annie (Wood) Besant. Annie Wood came from a comfortably well-to-do family. She was intelligent and well-educated. At the age of nineteen, she married Rev. Frank Besant. Her marriage to him led to Annie's awakening to the legal and social disabilities of women. She eventually separated from her husband, who won the custody of their two children. Robbed of her own children, Annie started to search for a way to help others. She became a national public speaker and advocated for better working conditions and practices in the labor industry, birth control, the abolishment of school fees, and more meals for schoolchildren. After being active for fifteen years in different branches of British radicalism, Annie converted to Theosophy. She became a leader of the Theosophy movement and became a dominant figure in Indian nationalism during the First World War. In this chapter, the focus is on Annie's account of money, prices, wages, and rent.